Magi - The Labyrinth of Magic

Guest Author - Lesley Aeschliman

Magi - The Labyrinth of Magic is an anime series based on a manga series written and illustrated by Shinobu Ohtaka.

The series has an Arabian Nights theme, and it features Aladdin and Alibaba as the main characters. Alibaba is a young man who wants to capture ruins called Dungeons, which are rumored to house priceless treasure. He's a wine cart driver who has racked up a lot of debt, so he wants to capture a Dungeon in order to claim its riches, pay off his debts and become wealthy.

One day, Alibaba finds a young boy named Aladdin in one of the carts that Alibaba is supposed to be loading, and Aladdin has helped himself to some of the merchandise inside. Later, the two run into a young female slave. Aladdin takes out a flute and plays it; the chains around the slave's ankles suddenly break. It turns out the flute is the vessel for a djinn named Ugo; during the first episode, Aladdin uses the flute to summon Ugo several times to help get him and Alibaba out of predicaments. Aladdin's turban also doubles as a magic carpet.

At the end of the first episode, Alibaba and Aladdin join forces to locate the Dungeons. Alibaba still wants to become wealthy, but Aladdin wants to locate other metal vessels that contain other djinns.

While Aladdin may still be a boy, he's actually a rather perverted little kid. As he says, he likes "beautiful ladies with soft, big breasts." There are some hints at nudity in the first episode, and one scene takes place at a hostess establishment.

When I saw that this series would have an Arabian Nights theme, I really wasn't sure how I would like it. For the most part, stories with the Arabian Nights feel tend to not do much for me; the main exception would be Disney's Aladdin. Magi - The Labyrinth of Magic seems to be OK for what it is, and would probably hold the most appeal to anime fans who also enjoy stories with this kind of a theme.

However, since there are some elements of this series that aren't entirely "kid friendly," I would personally recommend Magi - The Labyrinth of Magic to anime viewers who are 15 or 16 years of age and older.